Spring OCR withers as companies begin to recruit in the fall

For some, spring semester is a hurricane of nerve-wracking interviews and sweaty handshakes. For others, it is the calm waters of relaxation that follow the acceptance of an internship.

Official on-campus recruiting for summer 2016 begins this month. Usually, most students secure their summer internships in the spring, but this semester, relatively few students are on the search because they found their positions in the fall.

Patricia Rose, director of Career Services, said that in recent years, the finance and technology industries have been recruiting more in the fall.

“For the last year or two, investment banks have had an accelerated process. Many banks will be doing OCR as well this spring, but the fall process is growing,” Rose said.

However, because internship positions at some companies have already been filled by fall recruits, students looking to be recruited in the spring have more limited choices.

“The banks did a lot more accelerated recruiting this year than we’ve seen in previous years — it really ramped up,” Wharton senior and Career Services Associate Director Barbara Hewitt said. “People who are still looking at this point want to stay somewhat flexible about the kinds of financial opportunities they’re looking at.”

Though students can get the process out of the way and enjoy the spring semester by recruiting in the fall, they also face a lot of stress and time pressure. Christine Yang, a College and Wharton junior who was recruited by Barclays this fall, said that though she, like many other students, had planned to recruit in the spring, many companies announced at their information sessions that recruiting was accelerated and “no one really saw it coming.”

Other industries still primarily recruit in the spring. Ira Ko, College and Wharton junior and Penn International Impact Consulting president, said that “networking events occur in the fall ... in the form of coffee chats and info sessions.”

Ko added that official recruitment starts around Jan. 20, when many applications are due.

In both the fall and the spring, students can find recruitment opportunities through a variety of portals. They can get involved in on-campus recruiting, browse listings on PennLink, find opportunities through contacts, apply directly or attend career days.

Hewitt added that if students do not see the types of listings that they’re interested in on PennLink, they can schedule an appointment with Career Services to discuss how to strategize and reach out to employers “because some types of employers ... don’t tend to do a lot of on-campus recruiting.”

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